Alex Van Halen Gets a Royal Nod From His Homeland

Alex Van Halen has picked up a new honour to sit alongside his rock credentials: a knighthood from the Netherlands.

The drummer and Van Halen co-founder was made a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion on 1 September, in Nijmegen — the city where he and his brother Eddie spent much of their youth.

The order is among the country’s top civilian honours, reserved for those judged to have made exceptional contributions to society.

The 73-year-old attended the ceremony at Radboud University’s Berchmanianum, where Nijmegen’s mayor, Hubert Bruls, presented the honour and praised his part in shaping rock history.

Van Halen credited his cousin with arranging the occasion and said he was grateful, adding that such recognitions bring “dignity and a gravity” to people’s work — and give them something to “live up to.”